


With Open Arms

by HuyanaShadowheart



Series: Bliss and Madness, Holiness and Sins [1]
Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: F/M, slight mentions of previous abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 12:04:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14212758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HuyanaShadowheart/pseuds/HuyanaShadowheart
Summary: You were supposed to arrest Joseph Seed, but when you met him face to face, you decided not to.





	With Open Arms

**Author's Note:**

> Just a silly little one shot. Cause my brain wouldn’t leave me the fuck alone. Might continue this with a second part. I don’t know yet.

You had seen the footage from the hidden cameras various people had snuck into the community of Eden’s Gate. You had seen and heard what Joseph Seed and his brothers were capable of. Your stomach sank and continued to do so while you watched the helicopter land close to the church. The buildings looked like miserable versions of what they could be. The ground was muddy.

                You hadn’t really been listening to what Sheriff Whitehorse had been saying. You’d heard it before. To tell the truth, you didn’t even want to be here. You’d had your own share of religious nutcases, who called themselves your family. But you were new to the police force of Hope County. The Rookie. And so you hadn’t had much of a choice but to go with your boss, some of your colleagues and the US Marshall to arrest Joseph Seed.

                No matter how many times you mulled this over in your mind, you couldn’t stop your gut from telling you that this was a bad idea. You eyed all the worshippers warily, who in turn didn’t let you or your team out of their sight while you made your way to the church. Your instincts were screaming at you to get out of there. To just turn around and run.

                You had seen what religion did to people if they put too much faith into it, if they relied too much on an invisible entity that would never speak to them. Even to this day you sometimes woke up in a cold sweat, haunted by the monsters of your past with whom you shared blood. But you always reminded yourself that you had survived. You had gotten out and through most of the trauma. You even had the scars to prove it.

                The sheriff brought you out of your trance. You had reached the closed doors of the church, could hear the congregation inside singing. Roughly a dozen voices or more carried the lyrics of _Amazing Grace_ through the simple wooden walls of the church and to your ears.

                ‘Hudson. On the door. Don’t let any of these people in. Rookie – on me,’ the sheriff said, then turned to the Marshall who had one hand on the gun in his hip holster and kept looking around until he was spoken to. ‘And you. Just try not to do anything stupid.’

                ‘Relax, sheriff. You’re about to get your name in the paper,’ the Marshall replied with a sarcastic undertone to his voice and a gloved hand on the Sheriff’s shoulder.

                Hudson gave you a small reassurance that you would be fine before the Marshall and Sheriff Whitehorse opened the double doors.

                The singing stopped as you set foot into the church behind your superiors. A lone figure stood at the end of the room, cloaked in shadows. You couldn’t see his face, but you could hear his voice. The voice you had heard on countless broadcasts and videos. A voice that was warm, while giving a warning.

                ‘Something is coming. You can feel it, can’t you? That we are creeping toward the edge… And there will be a reckoning,’ the Father’s voice drifted towards you. The floor boards of the church creaked under your feet as you moved further down the aisle and he continued his sermon. His flock listening intently, while some of them turned to watch you. ‘That is why we started The Project. Because we know what happens next. They will come. They will try to take from us. Take our guns. Take our freedom. Take our faith!’

                You had almost reached the end of the aisle. More and more of Joseph’s followers stood up from their seats on simple wooden benches. You could feel the atmosphere shift from peaceful worship to crackling tension. You knew, the others in the room could feel it to.

                ‘We will not let them,’ continued Joseph. Now you saw that he had no shirt on. The reason why was beyond you, but you had to admit, you couldn’t stop staring.

                ‘Sheriff, c’mon…’

                ‘Just hold on, Marshall.’

                God, you wanted to get out of there. You really didn’t want to be here. And Joseph’s piercing stare made it even worse. His kind, warm voice had turned to stone. He and his followers didn’t want you here.

                ‘We will not let their greed, or their immorality, or their depravity hurt us anymore! There will be no more suffering!’

                The Sheriff and the Marshall started to quietly argue about the next step. While Whitehorse tried to diffuse the situation and meant for everybody to stay calm, the Marshall was of another opinion.

                ‘No. Fuck this.’ He pulled out an arrest warrant and held it up for Joseph to see. ‘Joseph Seed. I have a warrant issued for your arrest on the suspicion of kidnapping with the intent to harm! Now, I want you to step forward and keep your hands where I can see ‘em.’

                You were so close now that you realized, Joseph wasn’t the only one at this end of the church room. There were other people with him. His brothers and a young woman. Joseph’s followers voiced their protests, but he only put up his hands and looked at the three of you. His eyes lingering on you for a moment.

                ‘Here they are. The Locusts in our garden. You see they’ve come for me,’ he continued to speak. The men and women in the church stepped between you and their ‘Father’. You realized they were armed and the sinking gut feeling was back. This was bad.

                ‘They’ve come to take me away from you. They’ve come to destroy all that we built!’

                The protests grew louder, more agitated. The Marshall reached for his gun. Sheriff Whitehorse told him not to, told everybody in the room to stay calm and put down their weapons.

                ‘Stand down! Everyone calm down!’

                And just as quickly as the mood had shifted, it did so again. As Joseph stepped forward, the line of followers that separated you from him, formed a path. They grew silent again, staring at their leader and listening to whatever he had to say. He gently put his hands on the shoulders of some of them. Now he looked more like the loving father he always wanted to have himself be depicted as. He reminded you of what you had always thought God must be like. Until your family had turned into the monsters they were and you had turned your back onto faith.

                ‘We knew this moment would come. We’ve prepared for it. Go. Go… God will not let them take me.’ And as if by miracle, his followers actually obeyed and left the church. You watched them leave the building. When your attention shifted back to the person you were here to arrest, Joseph had begun to recite a verse from the Book of Revelations. You hated yourself for knowing where it came from. But it was hard to escape the demons of your past after all.

                ‘Step forward,’ the Marshall said, unimpressed by the theatricality of the speech. But Joseph stepped forward nonetheless, continuously reciting the verse.

                ‘… and Hell followed with him.’ He put his hands forwards, as if trying to reach out to you. The coldness of his stare from before had been replaced by curiosity and knowledge. It was as if the piercing gaze behind those vintage yellow sunglasses was trying to say: ‘I know your pain. I know what you suffered. But I will give you opportunity to truly heal, to be welcomed in the embrace of a loving family.’

                You blinked. Confused. The Marshall ordered you to cuff Joseph. But you couldn’t move. A small voice of doubt crept into your mind and became louder until it was drowning out everything else. What if he was right? What if, by arresting him, you would set off a chain of events that was beyond your control? What if the strange prophecy of his would come true and bring about the end of the world?

                ‘God will not let you take me.’ _For He chose me. And He still loves you. Despite your flaws._ Because _of your flaws._ His gaze was unwavering, not letting you break contact.

                ‘Rook! Put the cuffs on him!’ The Marshall insisted. But you still did not move. Your hand stayed on the cuffs, on your hips.

                ‘Put down your guns. Take your friends. And walk away,’ Joseph said calmly. But you had a feeling, he wasn’t really speaking to you. No. He wanted you to stay. You could see it in his eyes, feel it in your heart. For some reason, you would not arrest Joseph Seed today, and you would not leave his side.

                The Marshall still insisted and still you didn’t obey.

                ‘God is watching us. And He will judge you on what you choose in this moment.’

                Oh boy. You had heard that phrase all your life. ‘God is watching. God will judge you. Don’t stray from the path. Be a good child. Don’t make a sound or God will become angry.’ The memory of your family sent a shiver down your spine. You knew, Joseph’s cult wasn’t really that much different. And yet, you felt yourself drawn to him. Felt an unspoken promise from his side that he would never let anybody hurt you the way your family had. How did he even know about that? Or was he just acting on instinct? Was your burden so visible on your face?

                ‘Sometimes it’s best to leave well enough alone,’ Joseph uttered. Your hand fell from your hip. Joseph still had his hands stretched towards you. You reached forward, hesitantly, your eyes never leaving his gaze. When you touched his hand, he smiled a little bit.

                You heard the Sheriff sigh. Could imagine the Marshall gaping at you. They both turned to leave and you watched them go. You didn’t know whether your choice was the right one. But you were sure, you would see it in the near future. The Father would help you see.

 


End file.
